Is Your Business Keeping You Busy or Fulfilling a Need?

 By Chris Doe Ford  |   Submitted On January 13, 2015    

Do you know business owners, whether brick & mortar or online, that are crazy busy but just not that successful? I know I do. That 'crazy busy but just not that successful' syndrome means one thing. Lack of sales.
I have a friend that owns a local dry cleaning business. He works 7 days a week, all the time. I recently had a conversation with him regarding his business. He's doing OK, but has no online presence. After lengthy discussions about how he runs his business, how he does this, and how he does that, it became apparent that although he has been in business for several years now, he had lost sight of his golden ticket.
If you are already in business and trying (as we all are) to improve, increase, make more sales, generate more revenue, etc., the one place to look for the answer is simple, THE CUSTOMER. The customer is your golden ticket.
Running a business can be overwhelming, if you lose perspective. The proper perspective, in my opinion, is not accounts receivable, accounts payable, cost of goods sold, inventory, payroll, taxes, etc., even though these are important. The proper perspective is your customer. My friend had lost focus on his golden ticket, the customer.
You see, I don't pretend to be some type of marketing genius or guru, but I do listen very well. Listen to your customer or more importantly, that lost customer. They will tell you why you got the sale or why you lost the sale. So, now you ask, how do I find out my customer's needs? Simple, you see what they are searching for.
Internet tools are available, based on keyword research, that will tell you what customers or potential customers are searching for. The number of searches for a particular keyword is a great indicator of what your customer needs. For example, if I'm in the dry cleaning business, and do a search for the keyword 'dry cleaning 1 hour service', depending on the number of searches you can determine if your product or service is in demand for your local area.

By typing in a keyword or phrase, such as dry cleaning services or 1 hour dry cleaning, you will get results for the number of searches for the previous month. Listed below are 3 FREE keyword research tools you can use for your business. One is entirely free and the other 2 offer certain limited free searches and contain paid upgrades for more advanced searches (for other keyword research tools just do a Google search).
1. Google AdWords keyword-planner. Obviously, this is Google's keyword research tool. Although the tool itself is free, it is based on advertising with Google AdWords, a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising option. This keyword tool helps you build your search network campaign by finding keyword ideas and estimating how they perform.
2. Keywordspy.com. Keyword Spy allows you to 'spy' on keywords. You simply type in any domain name into the search box and you can obtain reasonable accurate date on how much that site is spending on paid searches, who their competitors are, and what keywords they spend the most money on. Further, their upgrade allows you to open a domain report of your competitor. Imagine what you could do with this type of information.
3. Sem-rush.com. Sem-rush is a paid tool that has a free option. The free option should be adequate for your business needs. The free version allows the metric for the number of results in Google. The number of results is useful because it essentially shows you how big the competitive field is for each keyword.
Remember, focus on your customer by fulfilling their needs. This requires some discipline and a little homework, but after it becomes habit, your business bottom-line will thank you.

Chris Doe Ford - is your business fulfilling a need? If not, that's usually a sign of no business. For your complete marketing tools please visit my site at http://RChrisFord.com

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Starting On The Right Foot: Your Business in 2015

 By B Black  |   Submitted On January 16, 2015   

Whether the holiday season was highly successful, a stalemate or went in completely the wrong direction; 2015 is a new year and a chance for you as a business owner to take your empire in the right direction.
Whether under strain and working tirelessly to ensure you stay afloat or debating whether or not to put your feet up and relax after a triumphant final quarter; a new year brings new possibilities which only means that work cannot stop! However 2014 may have gone, in a new year a business can take any path, even one you may not have predicted which is why it is your job as the business owner to ensure that whatever you are doing, you are working around the clock to ensure that your business remain on the path to success.
OK so perhaps commercial success isn't so easily guaranteed and with increasing competition and a constant change in the way consumers interact with businesses; there is a lot of added pressure particularly for small businesses, to keep their heads above water.
With 2015 well underway we have a few tips we hope will help you keep your business on the right path...

• Never spend more than you are making - This sounds like a given but it is all too easy to lose track of your daily spending habits and from here things can easily spiral out of control. Monitoring your daily in-comings and out-goings is essential and can be the difference between success and failure. Regular cash flow statements are a great way to maintain control of your finances but consider also setting a budget and regularly monitoring your profits and loss to ensure you know what is working and what isn't before it is too late.


• Never forget the competition - Sometimes in the madness of the business world we can get so lost in our everyday operations that the bigger picture slips out of sight. When first starting out, longevity and lasting success is everyone's goal but we also start of by focusing on the competition and attempting to do everything they do but a little bit differently and a little bit better. Once your business grows the competitiveness slips and instead, managing growth and ensuring the business stays a success becomes the number one priority. As the new year gets underway however, try to keep in mind that competition is what breeds real success; so try and keep an eye on what your local competitors are up to and what your industry leaders are now doing in an effort to ensure that your business not only grows but is able to make an impact not only to customers but to all within your industry.


• Customer Service - Whether your business involves the sales of products or you offer an array of services this year, ensure that you perfect your customer service. In today's Twitter and Facebook age, customers can make a complaint that can be seen by millions within seconds and a reputation can be questioned in the blink of an eye. From the moment a potential customer walks through those doors or enters your website; provide a service they cannot forget for all the right reasons. From the sales process to after-care and answering any queries; kind, helpful and swift responses from your team can make all the difference between a sale and losing a customer forever.

The New Year has only just begun which means for your business, a whole array of possibilities lies ahead of you. Whether the previous year was successful or one you want to forget, try and look ahead and focus on not what is to come but what you want to come.
This is your business, so take charge and make this year count.

Ben Black is the Director of Calculated Accountants, a firm of professional start up business and small business accountants dedicated to providing solid, trusted financial advice and support.

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Five Important Steps To Starting a Business

By Marvin B Wilcher  |   Submitted On January 05, 2015 

1. Write a Business Plan

Before you start, you will need to know what kind of business you want to start and how you are going to make money. Do your research; know the landscape of your industry and your competition. Include a plan for marketing, pricing, operations, and financing. Most people don't understand the value in preparing your own business plan. Preparing your plan or at least being involved in the preparation of your own business plan, helps you go through a dry run of what your business might look like in the future. Don't pass up this important step it is the foundation of everything else that happens.

2. Choose a Business Structure

Understand your options for structuring your business. Consider personal liability, taxation, and operational structures. Some of the most common options include a sole proprietorship in which you alone will be responsible for your business' assets and liabilities, a corporation which defers liability from its shareholders to the corporation itself, and a limited liability company which limits your personal liability while providing operational and taxing flexibility. Choosing the right structure could be the "make you or break you decision". Corporations, while more costly, shield you from the downside of creditors. The right decision here could save your personal credit or maybe your personal assets. Choose wisely.

3. Assess your Financing Options

You may have a healthy savings to fall back on, or you may keep a full-time job until your business is profitable. However, it is likely you will need to seek external funding for your business. This can be done through small business loans, grants, and venture capital. Whichever you decide, be sure to weigh out all of your options first.

Sometimes the capital you need to get your business started may be small enough to get it from your personal credit cards. Amounts like $5,000, $10,000 or slightly more are very doable. If your credit score is 670 or better this might be a really good choice. It will be faster and significantly less paperwork. When it comes to bank loans most banks want at least 3 years in business. But the SBA.gov could be your next stop. A new and up and coming way to raise money is "crowdfunding". Go to one of many sites like indiegogo.com, gofundme.com or kickstarter. These websites can help you raise funds for your ideas and small business. Billions of dollars are now being raised by small business people all across the country. Your business idea could be one of them.

4. Get the Proper Licenses & Registrations

If you are starting a business you should operate with the proper license. Check for license requirements with the state, county and city you operate in. Any or all of them may require a license of some sort. Also, you will likely need to get an employer Id number (EIN) from the IRS. Go to IRS.gov and search under EIN to apply online. Having an EIN number helps you separate your business from your personal. This is also likely a requirement when opening a business bank account under the company name. Getting an EIN number might save you personal tax problems in the future. The key here is to separate yourself out from your business in every way and to operate within the law in your area.

5. Hire Good People

Determine your personnel needs and find employees to fit those needs. You can hire qualified people from many online employment sites including monster.com, indeed.com or Craigslist. For simplification purposes you may consider starting new hires out as contract workers until you get the business up and running. However, this approach should be used sparingly and with full agreement clarifying their status to avoid future tax problems. Remember someone needs to pay the payroll tax unless the person you hired is a self employed independent contractor.

Also, always remember, hiring the right people is the most important job that an entrepreneur has. Your business is about people not just products or ideas. The right people can make your business prosper and the wrong people will surely put you under.

Marvin Wilcher http://www.MarvinWilcher.net is President of NationWize Solar, Managing Director at Solar Capital Inc., and sponsor to a clean energy camp for kids called Camp Green USA. Mr. Wilcher is also a regular contributor to http://www.MarvinKnows.com.

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